The cursed swamp
by Loke0
Summary: Inspired by the comics Son of Asgard. Thor, Loki, Balder and Hogun head into the woods one day but something goes wrong..


**I just want to thank everyone who read and reviewed Brotherly love. I appreciate it alot and I'm glad you guys like it. I'm working on a second chapter that I hope to upload soon.**

**For this fic, I got the idea from a series of comics called Son of Asgard, where they're in their teens. I hate most of it but I like issue #5 and #6  
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><p>The summer wind was blowing through the trees, causing a rustling sound throughout the forest. The only sound to be heard except for the random splashing noises of water. From a tree above the small lake, Loki was watching his brother cleaning up. He could only see Thor's upper body as the rest was hidden in water, but it was enough to keep him entertained. While Balder and Hogun had decided that they wanted to stay by the campfire instead of going swimming, Loki had said that he would go for a stroll in the forest by himself, but what he really had been doing was to follow his brother here.<p>

He couldnt take his eyes of Thor. His half naked body and that long wet hair. Sure, he had seen him without clothes before. But not like this... And now he really had the chance to study him without appearing creepy. However, he wasnt too pleased with the distance between them, and all the leaves that hindered his vision, so while Thor pulled his fingers through his blond hair in an irresistible way, Loki started climbing further out onto the branch that hovered a couple of meters above the water. And he stopped to watch his brother there. Maybe just a little bit closer... When he moved as far out as he possibly could without revealing himself, the branch suddenly creaked and before he had any chance to move back again, it cracked, sending him falling into the cold water. And as if that wasnt enough, he had to land on Thor.

Both brothers had equally shocked expressions on their faces when they emerged from under the surface again. At first they just stood there staring at each other, with dripping wet hair running down their faces.

"Loki?" Thor panted a little. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going for a walk", his younger brother blushed at this, shivering a little in the cold water before answering.

"I...was...", he swallowed. "I wasnt spying", he added quickly then, but Thor said nothing and an awkward moment passed. With his heart wanting to burst out of his chest, Loki made a turn and attempted to run towards the beach but two arms caught him and pulled him back in. Automatically, he started struggling to get free but Thor just giggled as the water splashed everywhere around them. What they didnt know was that the noises had caught someone's attention and two pair of eyes were watching them, hidden behind a nearby bush. After a while, Loki stopped struggling, once he realized that Thor was actually just hugging him, holding his back close to his naked chest. A blush spread over his cheeks then and he allowed his grip on his brother's arm to loosen slightly, but not fully.

Behind the bushes, Balder and Hogun were exchanging wide eyed looks, wondering what the hell they doing over there... But Thor and Loki didnt notice. They were completely oblivious to their friends' presence. An awkward moment of silence later, the brothers finally separated and Thor was blushing heavily as well, surprised by his own actions and feelings. He hoped that Loki wouldnt be mad at him for this. However, they didnt get any more time to wonder what had just happened before a rustling sound turned both of their attention to behind them, but there was no one there...

"Uhm...", Thor started, scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner as a silly smile formed on his face. "We should head back to the others..."

"...Yes...", Loki replied quietly, still with a deep shade of red on his face and in silence, they both left the lake to return to their friends.

xXx

A while later, the four of them were on their way again, fully dressed and dry. But Thor and Loki were still embarrassed to be around each other, while Balder and Hogun watched them cautiously, not knowing what to think really.

"So... what should we do now?" Hogun asked as he walked up between the two brothers, which distracted Loki from his embarrassment temporarily and he gladly answered.

"We could go to the swamp", he suggested, hoping that the others would catch on but of course Thor had to object.

"You know father has told us to stay away from that place", he said, almost scoldingly, but Loki didnt back down.

"Come on. It'll be fun", at this, Thor looked to Balder and Hogun for support but Balder just shrugged.

"I agree with Loki... I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" he said. "...Right?"

Their path was suddenly split into two as they reached a crossroad and they all stopped in silent consideration. Should they go to the swamp or not.

"Come on, brother", Loki pulled at the young man's sleeve, eventually convincing Thor to give in. "We will just stay for a little while." he promised.

"Alright...", Thor said in defeat but a mischievous grin soon spread over his face. "Let us go then!" he decided and the four of them headed off further away from home. Deeper into the darkening woods. The further they walked, the more sticky the ground became, and the wet mud got stuck to their pants and boots.

"This place really stinks!" Balder complained while he was trying to pull his foot free from a root that was sticking out from under the ground.

"I dont think that's the only reason people avoid this place", Thor replied and poked around in the mud with the tip of his sword, where several apparently lost items were half buried in the sticky ground. Turning his eyes from the darkening sky above, Loki layed his eyes on his brother for a moment and he licked his dry lips, feeling the blush coming back from the memories of what had happened earlier at the lake. He had no idea that Thor could be so... soft and gentle... He definitely wished to engage in more intimate activities like that.

With a small smirk on his face, he threw himself at Thor, knocking them both to the ground and started wrestling him in a childish way. Shocked at first, Thor was stunned for a second but soon started 'fighting' back in an attempt to throw Loki off, and Balder was about to join in too when something suddenly stopped him. A long, root-like thing, almost like a tentacle, came shooting out of to ground to slither around Loki's leg and before anyone could react, he was practically covered in roots, pulling him off his brother, while wrapping harder around his body.

"THOOR!" he shrieked as he struggled for his life. Hogun and Balder were the first to act as Thor was still struggling to get up.

"What are those things?" Balder yelled as he tried to stab the crawling roots with his sword, without accidentally cutting off any of Loki's limbs in the process.

"HEELP!" Loki's hoarse screaming echoed throughout the forest and he only stopped to try and pull a tentacle off his throat, but without much success.

"LOKI!" Thor was back on his feet again but too late as his brother was being pulled down underground, disappearing from sight.

"NOO!" Thor managed to grab a hold of Loki's hand, but he wasnt strong enough, and so it slipped away as well. Next he found himself stuck too. Something hard and rough had grabbed his own arm, pulling at him and he fought to pull it free. Balder's and Hogun's arms were the only things keeping him from meeting the same fate as Loki. But they all stopped and stiffened suddenly, at the sound of a woman's laughter.

"I never get any visitors", her ironic voice floated up to the three above ground. "Especially not from Odin's sons", she chuckled.

"Who are you?" Thor demanded, feeling how the death grip on his arm was beginning to hurt a bit.

"I could be your worst nightmare", she purred. "It depends...", All three of them were frozen in shocked silence and fear.

"Young man, I suggest that you run back home to your father and tell him... That I have something that belongs to him", she sounded as if she was taking a deep, wheezing breath and so the grip on Thor's arm finally loosened and he was able to pull away at last.

"Give me back my brother!" he ordered but there was just dead silence. He was so stunned that he almost didnt notice his friends pulling him up on his feet again.

"We've got to go home and tell your father!" Balder's voice was unsteady and he pulled Thor back a little more, wanting nothing more than to leave this place.

"I cant go! Not without Loki!"

"We have to!" Hogun said and pulled at him as well, but Thor was was horrified just by the thought of leaving his brother here. "Lets go!" it was with a heavy heart that Thor finally gave in and left the swamp with his friends, but he couldnt do anything for Loki now. Except for going back home and getting help as soon as possible. He knew they shouldnt have come here. If something happened to Loki he would never be able to forgive himself.

xXx

Under the ground, far bellow the muddy swamp, Loki found himself in some sort of underground cave. There was a damp, moisty atmosphere down there and it smelled as if something was rotting away somewhere. But the stench wasnt the worst part. He had been strapped to the wall by the roots that had pulled him down and he was almost unable to move any of his limbs at all. Soon, a shadow moved into view, revealing itself as a woman with long, dark hair and a creepy smirk on her face. Loki's eyes widened as she approached him, afraid of what awaited him. That voice from before, it must have been her's.

"You must be Odin's second son", she smirked when walking up to him, watching him struggle against his bonds.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know, still trying to free himself. The woman just pulled a hand through her hair casually before answering.

"If you must know, my name is Karniila", she made a pause. "I collect things from above...that I find...interesting", turning her back to Loki, she strolled away as if she was studying the furnishing in there. "I have always wanted to live someplace nice", she then walked back to him. "Like your father's castle", a satisfied smirk stretched her lips wide at the shocked expression on Loki's face, but it soon turned into a furious one.

"You'll never get away with this!" he roared, panting angrily from his attempts at freeing himself.

"I think I will", Karniila smirked. "If Odin wants his boy back", she then laughed and ruffled his hair, leaving poor Loki to suffer in the grip of the hard, rough roots, painfully pinning his body to the wall.

xXx

Back in Odin's palace in Asgard, Thor was running as fast as his legs would let him, on his way to his father's chambers. He had lost Balder and Hogun a while back since they were too exhausted to keep up with him. Thor was exhausted too. His heart was pounding painfully hard in his chest and his throat was sore from all the running, but he couldnt allow himself to stop. Not when Loki was in grave danger. He just hoped that it wouldnt be too late as he burst into the room where he knew that he could always find Odin. Well most of the time anyway. It wasnt until then that he allowed himself to breathe, placing his hands on his knees for support and Balder and Hogun soon caught up with him, entering as well, but they kept in the background.

"Father!" Thor panted, coughing a little, alerting the unexpecting Odin. "Something took Loki!" he inhaled deeply while desperately waiting for his father to say something. At first, Odin looked shocked as he slowly raised from his throne, looking out over the young men in the room to confirm that his youngest son was indeed not there.

"What took him?" he asked Thor then with a grave serious voice as he descended the small steps of stairs to walk up to his son. "Where have you been?" he sounded more scolding now and Thor knew that they would have to tell him what he was never supposed to know about. Sill horrified, Thor bit his lower lip nervously.

"...We went to...the swamp...", he replied quietly as if he wished that his father wouldnt hear him, but the increasing anger in Odin's features showed the opposite.

"I have forbidden you to go there!" he roared and both Balder and Hogun flinched in the background, even though the scolding was directed towards Thor, who hung his head a little and swallowed.

"...I know...", he said, feeling extreme guilt for what they had done. "But please... Loki is in danger..", he pleaded and his fear for what could be happening to his poor brother at this very moment was growing stronger by the minute. Odin looked to Balder and Hogun in the background then.

"Go home, you two", he ordered, appearing quite calm but it was obvious that he was both angry and distressed. Without a word, the two boys bowed quickly and then disappeared outside again. Odin's eyes then returned to Thor again and he addressed him.

"My son", he started with hard eyes on the boy. "You will show me the place where Loki disappeared. Immediately", Thor looked up at him with both relief and fear showing in his features and he nodded before straightening up fully again.

xXx

The sun was setting behind the horizon and the moon was already becoming visible on the bright evening sky. The woods were darker however, since hardly no sun could stream in between the branches anymore. It was quiet too, except for the steps of two pair of feet approaching the more dark and gloomy parts of the woods.

"Many dark creatures roam in this forest", Odin started and Thor who was walking right behind him, raised his eyes from the uneven ground to look at his father instead. But Odin didnt say anything else and Thor understood then that it was only said to remind him of the countless of times that his father had told them where they were not allowed to go. And that for a very good reason. And he kept quiet until they finally reached the dark swamp. It looked even more gloomy and horrifying in the dark and he feared that those roots would come up and grab them both, just like they did to Loki.

Odin however, was not intimidated by this smelly, muddy substance but calmly began walking over it with watchful eyes.

"How far did you go?" he asked Thor without turning around.

"... I dont remember", he replied worryingly, still standing at the border between firm ground and swampy soup. "It was somewhere around here...", he added, hoping that it would be helpful information and then dared to take a step forward. The lower parts of his pants were still covered in dried mud and parts of grass and he was sinking even further down this time. Nasty. Odin had stopped a distance ahead of him, looking as if he was listening for something, before his eyes lowered to the muddy ground around his feet.

"Whoever you are", he started, as if there was someone standing there before him. "Return what you have taken from me or face my wrath", Thor had frozen a distance behind him, hearing how he was speaking to someone but there was no one there, and no answer came. Not that he could hear anyway. The ground suddenly shook slightly and then everything was still again.

"I will give back what I have taken from you, Allfather, but I will only do so in return of something else", came a woman's cunning voice, but it was impossible to hear from where it came. But Thor knew one thing, it was the same voice that had spoken to them earlier. The same voice that had told him to run home and get his father if he wanted his brother back. He felt anger boiling up inside him. Who did she think she was? Odin was quiet for a moment before opening his mouth again.

"Let me inside your domain, and we will talk", he rumbled to Thor's dismay. How could his father go down there where Loki disappeared to. What if he couldnt get back up again. He didnt want to lose him too.

"father", he started worryingly but Odin held his hand up to silence him. A humming sound came from bellow then, as if Karniila was thinking this over. Then without warning, a gap slowly began to form in the ground, like a ramp down into the underground and Thor watched pale in horror how his father slowly began to walk down. Slowly, he gathered some courage to walk after him but Odin sensed this and stopped him.

"You will stay above ground, my son", he said. "Do not worry for me. I will be back", however assuring it sounded, Thor couldnt help but doubt his father's words but he obeyed this time, staying where he was with a big lump of fear in his chest.

Odin descended into the dark, damp cave bellow. At first, all he could hear was the dripping sound of water running down the walls but a light soon lead him further inside.

"Welcome, king of Asgard", the smug voice greeted him as he slowly made his way into the room where Karniila could be found. Also, Loki was hanging strapped to the wall at the other side of the room and he struggled when he saw Odin.

"FATHER!" he tried to free himself yet again but the roots were wrapping themselves tighter around his body, strangling his speech and his ability to move. Odin's eyes fixed on Loki for a couple of seconds before moving to the woman before him.

"Release my son at once", he ordered but Karniila just laughed, as if it was the funniest thing she had heard in a long time. Odin was not amused.

"What's in it for me?" she asked calmly then, yet with a smirk still on her face. "There are so many things that I want, you know...", she put her finger on her chin and looked around as if thinking. "I have always wanted to live someplace...nicer...Say...", she slowly rounded him, letting her hand stroke his shoulder as she appeared at the other side of him. "Would you trade your beautiful fortress...for your son?" her eyes lit up at the last word, excited to see remorse or fear or anything in the man's eyes, but Odin showed no emotions.

"I have no such intentions", he informed her, seeing disappointment and anger flashing in her eyes momentarily. She then got a dissatisfied look on her face and she walked away from Odin, stopping a few steps away with her back to him.

"Then I am afraid that I cant give your son back to you", she said simply, studying the nail polish on her nails casually, as if it was a much more interesting matter. But before she could do anything else, an invisible force threw her into the wall and pinned her against it. With widened eyes, she watched as Odin approached her and she closed her eyes hard and inhaled before a smirk formed on her face. Further into the room, screams of pain erupted from Loki as the roots were squeezing his body tighter, almost strangling him in the process. Odin was momentarily distracted by his son's pain but was soon fully concentrated on the witch again.

"I will kill him if you dont let me go!" she struggled but was thrown away to the floor. One thing that neither of them noticed however, was the shadow of a young man sneaking by and into the room. In the dim light from the ceiling, Loki's eyes met with Thor's in silence and the older brother threw one glance over his shoulder to make sure they were busy fighting, before quietly pulling his sword out of its holster. And with a few stabs, he managed to cut the roots off and free Loki, catching him as he fell off the wall. It almost knocked Thor to the ground but he managed to stand steadily, trying to keep his dazed brother from slipping out of his arms and to the ground.

"Loki...?" he worryingly uttered but got no answer.

In the meantime, Karniila had had it with Odin's inability to cooperate and prepared herself for squeezing the life out of her prey for good, but suddenly discovered that Loki had escaped the bonds. With a scream of anger, she attempted to hurt Odin one last time with her magic but as it failed again, she escaped herself. Before their eyes, she transformed, turning into wood before her body parted into roots that retreated into the ground and walls around them. Dead silence followed and Odin looked around the rotting place.

"If you ever lay a hand on one of my boys again", he started, knowing that she was still around, defeated for now. "You will meet my wrath again, and the next time you do, you might not be so lucky", his eyes narrowed then. Everything was quiet again and the witch probably wouldnt show her face around there until they had left for good. Finally, Odin turned to see not only Loki but Thor as well. They were both sitting on the ground, Thor holding his dazed brother to him in a supporting manner. Once again had he disobeyed and come down here despite being told to stay behind, but it didnt matter now. All that mattered was that they were safe.

"Thor...", he crouched by them, gently pulling him away from Loki, but the younger brother didnt move. His head was bowed and bangs of black hair were covering his eyes.

"Loki?" Odin reached out and turned his son's face towards him, checking him for injuries and Thor watched nervously. He hoped his brother wasnt hurt or something. He looked sick. Seeing how weak Loki was, Odin pulled him to him, lifting him into his arms as if he was merely a child.

"We will leave this cursed place", he decided then while raising to his feet again and Thor nodded quietly, throwing one last glance over his shoulder as they ascended to the world above.

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><p><strong>I'm not sure if this will be updated or not. It could be a oneshot, but I really like chapter stories so I might write more. <strong>**What do you guys think?**


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